When Candied Met Spicy: Holiday Nuts

Many years ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Candied Nuts at a holiday party. We hit it off right away and spent much of the night together. Truth be told, I was hooked at "hello." My brother-in-law's mom, Diane,  introduced us. After the party, I begged Diane for more information on Candied Nuts so that I could get a hold of them myself whenever I wanted.  I couldn't let this friendship end as fast as it began. For the next several years, we got together every holiday season to catch up and celebrate with friends and family.

Then it happened, I decided I wanted more out of our relationship. I felt as if I needed to spice things up, the holiday routine just became stale. Much to my surprise, Candied Nuts agreed with me and loved my idea for firing up our affinity for one another. When I acquainted Candied Nuts with Cayenne, I looked deep into that bowl and knew we would forever be intertwined.

SPICED CANDIED NUTS:

1 pound of pecans/walnuts/almonds or a combination

1 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of ginger

1/2-3/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional)

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 egg white

1 tablespoon of water

Preheat the oven to 225 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place nuts in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne pepper and kosher salt. In another small bowl, whisk together the water and egg white until nice and frothy.

In a large bowl, coat the nuts with the egg whites.

Toss in the seasoning and give it a good stir.  Layer the nuts onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Bake for a total of 1 hour, flipping the nuts every 20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheet and transfer to a container with a tight seal for up to 2 weeks.

These nuts make great gifts during the holidays!